In 'Kufre n' Quay,' two young friends bridge cultural divides

Bridging cultural divides is a noble yet complex endeavor.

In playwright Mfoniso Udofia’s “Kufre n’ Quay,” the characters from various backgrounds must work to come closer together instead of further apart. The heartwarming show is in its world premiere at Boston Arts Academy, a co-production with Wheelock Family Theatre, through July 26.

The play centers on Kufre — the son of Iniabasi Ekpeyong, the first-born daughter of Abasiama Ufot — and his budding friendship with a Black American girl named Laquasha, or Quay for short. At the show’s start, the affable and imaginative Kufre, vibrantly rendered by Levi Mngomezulu, is too excited to sleep. He’s eager to go to the Discovery Zone community center in Harlem, where he will spend the summer. He imagines the kids crowding around him, cheering for him, and welcoming him with open arms and hearts. But his grandmother Abasiama, a loving, but no-nonsense woman excellently portrayed by Jackie Davis, tries to warn him that change isn’t always easy.

Working to change for the better is at the core of this story, which finds Black kids and adults pointing fingers at their differences and setting themselves above one another. For instance, Kufre tells his friend Quay, an incredibly talented Ngolela Kamanampata, that she doesn’t belong in his native Nigeria, while other kids try to demonstrate that New York Africans are different or better than those who have newly arrived in America.

It’s a fight that stems from long ago, planted and shaped by colonization, enslavement and diasporic geography. Udofia doesn’t wade too deeply in these choppy waters. Still, she crafts a powerful scene where Abasiama stops her daughter, Iniabasi, and the committed counselor at the Discovery Zone, portrayed by Jalyse Ware, from cutting each other down and critiquing each other’s blackness. But not before Iniabasi, a fantastic and convincing Ramona Lisa Alexander, uses the counselor’s words about experiencing troublesome treatment from people who look like you against her. At the end of the argument, Abasiama makes it clear that she intends to be part of the solution, rather than continuing this cycle of misunderstanding, and starts volunteering at the Discovery Zone.

“Kufre n’ Quay” is the fifth play in Udofia’s Ufot Family Cycle, consisting of nine stories that chronicle the family over several generations. The cycle is being produced over two years; an effort led by The Huntington Theatre in collaboration with numerous community partners. For this production, with smart direction from John Oluwole ADEkoje, nearly a dozen students from the Boston Arts Academy star in the play. The production required them to learn accents and new languages, a powerful way to learn about another culture. Their hard work — guided by dialect coach Lee Nishri-Howitt — shows up in friendly French banter between Mariama (Shai-Anne Neufville) and the counselor, a smidge of Spanish from the dynamic Sparkle (a very fun Selah Thande) and in the lilting accents of Kufre, Abasiama and Iniabasi, among others.

It’s a joy to watch the entire cast in this tale — a love letter to Black youth, Udofia shared in the program note — where two kids from different worlds find common ground. But it’s extraordinary to see Kamanampata’s Quay standout in a scene where she bids farewell to her friendship with Kufre by singing Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye.” This scene at the youth center, in which all the arts academy youth join in, exemplifies the cast’s collective talent.

The team — including projection designer Justin Lahue, set designer Jenna McFarland Lord and sound designer Cliff Notez — helped usher audiences from Kufre’s cozy home for the summer to the bustling community center and into the streets of Lagos, Nigeria.

Though I couldn’t catch all the dialogue due to occasionally swift delivery, “Kufre n’ Quay” is a solid step forward in the cycle, where Kufre, Abasiama and Iniabasi seem to grow. Abasiama’s insistence on working out the challenges her family has with the counselor and kids at the center leaves me wondering if she will take her own advice and bridge the divide with her old friend Moxie one day, whom audiences met in the first play, “Sojourners.” Or will she let the chasm widen?

Only time will tell.

Boston Arts Academy and Wheelock Family Theatre’s production of “Kufre n’ Quay” shows through July 26 at the Boston Arts Academy’s Main Stage Theatre.